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Although math anxiety is associated with poorer math performance [1], the mechanisms underlying this impairment remain debated. Competing accounts propose that it stems from generally reduced executive control in math‑anxious individuals [2], math‑specific disruptions of executive control [3], or behavioral avoidance that limits practice and exposure [4]. To further examine these explanations, 68 university students completed an antisaccade task requiring strong inhibitory control, first in a neutral condition and then in a condition where errors triggered a punitive multiplication problem. Math anxiety and intrinsic math motivation, known to modulate the anxiety–performance relation, were assessed via questionnaires. In the neutral condition, higher math anxiety predicted poorer antisaccade performance, consistent with reduced executive control in math anxious individuals. However, when errors led to punitive multiplication, higher math anxiety predicted better antisaccade performance, suggesting that anxious individuals can compensate for inhibitory‑control weaknesses when motivated to avoid math. Importantly, these effects emerged only when controlling for math motivation. Together, these findings clarify that math anxiety does not uniformly impair executive control but interacts with context and motivation to shape performance.
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Geers, L., Andres, M., Lepoittevin, S., & Masson, N. (2026, May 27). From Reduced to Enhanced Inhibitory Control: Context-Dependent Effects of Math Anxiety. 14th Annual Meeting « Advances in Numerical Cognition Research », Marseille, France. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/278232